Companies like Google have found that giving their employees time off to work on a “pet” project or just to chat with their colleagues can pay off 5 times over. At Shockingly Different, we encourage our clients to implement “Power Hours” within their organizations.
Power Hours are dedicated time during the month when an employer provides time that is “protected” on the employee’s calendar to dedicate to learning new skills, making progress on interesting projects, and/or deepening professional relationships via meetups like coffee breaks or happy hours.
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Allowing employees to grow on company time helps increase both business results and the employee’s own happiness by giving them the space, time and permission to accomplish goals they normally would not have time to do.
With the well known Gallop Study (2013 ) stating 87% of employees are disengaged at their jobs, and with the cost of replacing an employee generally being 3x their salary, it seems like a no-brainer for employers to make a small investment in official time off in order to increase the probability of employee productivity, happiness, and retention.
Some additional but not so obvious benefits to Power Hours:
- Employees manage their time more efficiently to account for the Power Hours
- The choice of how to use the time helps to keep work interesting
- Attracts employees who want to learn and grow
- Makes employee retention easier because employees have the option to try something new on their own
- People acquire new skills faster
- Organizations become an “employer of choice” in their market or industry
- Employees build deeper relationships with fellow colleagues.
Should your company implement Power Hours at your office? Well, while the benefits can be huge, implementing such a program may require a bit of structure to decrease any downside or risks.
However, allowing employees time to focus on what they think will make them a better person and a better employee will definitely give your organization a differentiating edge. After all, aren’t you trying to create a working environment to nurture employees to develop into the “best of the best”?
The team at Shockingly Different can help your company implement a host of innovative development experiences, like Power Hours. Let’s chat! Coffee on us!
Now, we’d love to hear from you.
Does the Power Hour concept resonate with you? Would it work at your company? What would need to happen for this type of program to be successful? How would you choose to use the time for yourself? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Thank you, as always, for contributing!
